Overview

Waris Dirie (the name means desert flower) lives a double life - by day she is a famous model and UN spokeswoman on women's rights in Africa, at night she dreams of her native Somalia. Waris, one of 12 children, was born into a traditional family of desert nomads in East Africa. She remembers her early childhood as carefree- racing camels and moving on with her family to the next grazing spot - until it came her turn to meet the old woman who administered the ancient custom imposed on most Somalian girls: circumcision. Waris suffered this torture when she was just five years old. Then, aged 12, when her father attempted to arrange a marriage with a 60 year old stranger in exchange for five camels - she took flight. After an extraordinary escape through the dangerous desert she made her way to London and worked as a maid for the Somalian ambassador until that family returned home. Penniless and speaking little English, she became a janitor in McDonalds where she was famously discovered by a fashion photographer. Her story is a truly inspirational and extraordinary self-portrait of a remarkable woman whose spirit is as breathtaking as her beauty.

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9781860497582

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Waris's story is one of remarkable courage. From the deserts of Somalia to the world of high fashion ... she emerges a real champion. She is the most beautiful inspiration to anyone - ELTON JOHN A story that traverses continents, spans worlds of human experience and human pain ... Waris Dirie was a victim once, but she never will be again - EXPRESS She was circumcised at five, fled an arranged marriage at 12, then became a Pirelli girl in her teens. Now, at twenty-eight, Waris Dirie is an ambassador for the UN. Her mission? To rid Africa of its most barbaric ritual - OBSERVER Dirie's story is an extraordinary one. - SUNDAY TIMES

Waris Dirie ran away from home in Somalia when she was only 13. She took no food or drink and had only the clothes she was wearing but she cared about none of these things. Her only concern was to get away from her father, who wanted her to marry a man many years her senior. Waris was a courageous, resourceful girl, whose first dangerous encounter would have sent a less determined child back home. Approached by a lion as she was sleeping under a tree in the desert, she was too weak from lack of food to run away. She thought her time had come and prayed that death would be quick. But the lion must have decided she was too puny to be of interest, for it wandered away. This was only the start of her adventure. After a plane journey to London - giving her her first experience of flying and, indeed, her first sight of a white person -Waris found herself a room in the YMCA and a job in a fast-food restaurant. This was a remarkable achievement for a young woman with no education and no English, from an utterly alien country. She was spotted by a fashion photographer and became a model - a contemporary of the as yet unknown Naomi Campbell. Later she achieved her ambition, to campaign on behalf of the UN against the one aspect of Somali culture she despised - female circumcision, a custom still practised in much of Africa and elsewhere. She herself had been circumcised when she was five. Waris's book has been translated into 14 languages and inspired Elton John to buy the film rights. The tale of a truly exceptional woman who overcame incredible odds, it is a story everyone should read. (Kirkus UK)

'Waris's story is one of remarkable courage. From the deserts of Somalia to the world of high fashion ... she emerges a real champion. She is the most beautiful inspiration to anyone' ELTON JOHN 'A story that traverses continents, spans worlds of human experience and human pain ... Waris Dirie was a victim once, but she never will be again' EXPRESS 'She was circumcised at five, fled an arranged marriage at 12, then became a Pirelli girl in her teens. Now, at twenty-eight, Waris Dirie is an ambassador for the UN. Her mission? To rid Africa of its most barbaric ritual' OBSERVER 'Dirie's story is an extraordinary one.' SUNDAY TIMES 'A mettlesome, contemporary Cindereall, her voice is as entertaining as it is inspiring.' THE TIMES 'This story will make you weep for what people are capable of doing to their children and fill you with admiration for one woman's strength.' IRISH NEWS 'Waris Dirie's story puts rags to riches to shame. The Desert Flower started life as one of 12 children of a Somali nomad family, a people with no written culture, where the basic unit of currency is the camel. Faced at 12 with the prospect of marriage to a 60-year-old man she didn't know, she broke all the rules and ran away, surviving a traumatic trek across the desert to end up in London, as a maid to the Somalian Ambassador. It was in McDonalds that her striking beauty was discovered , leading to a career in modelling and another as an ardent campaigner against female genital mutilation (circumcision). As a novel it would be unbelievable, as Waris survives circumcision, rape, arranged marriage, a lion attack--you name it, she's lived through it. But the book is remarkable less for its deliberately dramatic set pieces, and more for its haunting evocation of the little-told life of Somalian nomads, seen from a child's telling perspective, where life centres on the beloved camels, the horrors of womanhood are still an exciting mystery, and the nights are filled with the smell of frankincense. Desert Flower is a recollection of such gentle beauty that rags to riches seems hardly appropriate.' - Alan Stewart, AMAZON.CO.UK REVIEW

Author Information

Waris Dirie is an internationally renowned model and face of Revlon skincare products. She was appointed by the United Nations in 1997 as a special ambassador for women's rights to eliminate the practice of female genital mutilation. She lives in New York with her boyfriend and their son.

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